5 Great museum exhibits

The Pioneer Valley is chock full of terrific museums to capture the imagination of all ages. Here are some interesting exhibits you can enjoy:

1. The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art presents “Our British Cousins: The Magical Art of Maisy and Friends” – through November 25, 2012. Lucy Cousins, one of today´s most beloved author-illustrators of children´s books, is best known as the creator of the Maisy series—books that portray Maisy and her friends in adventures that reflect the experiences young children have every day. Cousins, who lives in Hampshire, England, will make a special visit to the Museum in Amherst on September 15, 2012 for “Maisy Day.”

"Maisy" author-illustrator Lucy Cousins comes to the Eric Carle Museum on September 15.

2. Smith College Summer Institute in Art Museum Studies presents "Outside the [Box]" – through September 30, 2012. “Outside the [Box]” is the culminating, collaborative project by students in the 2012 Smith College Summer Institute in Art Museum Studies (SIAMS). Drawn from the permanent collection of SCMA, the 33 works on view in the Northampton museum include contemporary sculpture, traditional decorative art objects, and works on paper. Grouped thematically rather than chronologically or according to nationality, everyday or mundane objects are juxtaposed with boxes created for ceremonial, aesthetic, or symbolic purposes.

Wistariahurst Museum

3. The Beneski Museum of Natural History at Amherst College in Amherst is home to impressive collections and exhibits for dinosaur fans that include vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology, minerals and other geologic specimens, and anthropological material. The evolution and ecology of many animals is presented in some of the museum’s displays, and others describe the geological processes that eventually formed the earth and local structures. Among the many specimens found at the Beneski Museum (collected from worldwide sources), is its own Connecticut River Valley dinosaur track collection.

4. Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke presents “He Brought Magic to the People: Sidney Radner’s Collection of Magic Memorabilia” – September 14 through the end of October. This exhibit features select pieces from many items of Harry Houdini memorabilia. Holyoke’s own Radner performed professionally under the name “Rendar the Magician,” and has an impressive collection of rarities that his son has loaned to Wistariahurst for the exhibit.

5. Historic Deerfield presents “Furnishing the Frontier: The Material World of the Connecticut River Valley, 1680-1720” – through November 26 at the Flynt Center of Early New England Life. Deerfield at the end of the 17th century bore little resemblance to what is here today. Fewer than 50 families lived in small houses with one or two-rooms and a garret, clustered within and around a protective stockade. Their dwellings provided modest living space and a place to store crops, marketable commodities such as furs and lumber, and farming tools. Only the wealthiest owned luxury goods such as a clock, refined textiles, or perhaps several silver spoons. This exhibition features objects drawn from Historic Deerfield’s collection, many with local histories.

Be a pioneer in the Valley and explore all the fun attractions, restaurants, shopping sites and more that await you here. Click here to order a free copy of the “2012-2013 Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley Visitor Guide.” Then click on our WOW Values bubble to take advantage of some great discounts at top spots.